Under the Stars
by Hittinmiss
Summary: Modern AU. The senior class of Fairy Tail High take a weeks outing to go camping. Lucy Heartfilia, a new student, discovers how rowdy the Fairy Tail lot really are and a little more - Nalu
1. Chapter 1

**Well hello there! I'm Hitt! I welcome you to the story. It's Fluffy and it's Nalu, with hints of other ships like Gruvia and the likes. This is set in a modern au where at school their class organises a camping trip.**

 _ **I don't own any of these characters, they are Hiro Mashima's. The idea is mine though.**_

Yup, it was official. Natsu Dragneel hated buses. He wasn't completely sure how he'd tolerate it at first, not being on one for years, the reason for that is another story altogether. Now, he wished he had succeeded in making the others agree to walk to the campsite but noooo, they had to take the bus. He wasn't the only one to complain, three classmates of his agreeing. But one glare from Erza, the class president, and they had to agree to the bus. He dreaded sitting on it. They moment he sat on, some of the boys he was friendly with and Gray made sure he wouldn't sit next to them. He found an empty row and sat down. His bag occupied the seat next to him. He zipped it open, getting a bag ready for what he was guessing would happen. He brushed a hand through his hair as he leant against the cool glass window, starting to let his mind wonder. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was.

"Um...hi...mind if I sit there? Most of the other seats are taken and I don't really know anyone." The girl asked.

"Uhh...if you want I guess but be warned, I don't get along with vehicles." He shrugged to her, preparing to move his duffle bag.

"Thanks." She smiled as she sat down on the chair. She rested her head back on the headrest, her golden blonde hair cascading down from the two pigtails she had. "I'm Lucy. I just moved to this school two or three weeks ago."

"I'm Natsu." He said, introducing himself. "So have you-" he started. The bus gave a jolt and the engine started. Soon after the vehicle had moved, Natsu was down.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked him, putting a hand on his back. "Are you ok?"

"Y...yeah...I'm just fine." He said weakly, paling. "I'm...I'm just gonna..." He said before he brought the bag to his mouth. Lucy looked away just to see three others on the bus all doing similar. She bit her lip. 'Four motion sick people in one class? What were the odds?' She thought. She sighed as she looked back at Natsu, the boy with a strange pink undercut. He was already unconscious. Her head fell into her hands. This was going to be a long journey.

Lucy jolted upright. 'When did I fall asleep?' She asked herself. She looked about, most others on the bus were asleep, the remaining few that were awake were just chilling, playing games or eating. Lucy turned back around to Natsu, who was still unconcious. His mouth was slightly ajar and the sun hit his hair perfectly, making it shine. She fell into a daze, unaware of the fact Natsu had now risen from his stupor and was staring at her funny.

"Lucy? What's with the weird look?" He asked her. She shook her head slightly.

"Huh? What?" She asked. She focussed back on the real world. "Oh...uh...sorry about that, I started day dreaming. Are we there?"

"Yup." He said, pointing a thumb out the window. Lucy looked to find the bus parked at a small parking lot.

The moment the bus door was opened, the students created a stampede to escape the suffocating bus. Lucy stood up once they had passed and grabbed her bag. Natsu followed suit. Once they had got a few steps from the bus door, it was shut and the driver left.

"Well, we're here. I think we should-" Erza started before some people raked around in their bags. What they pulled out left Lucy shocked. Swim **suits.**

"I checked google maps, there is a massive pool nearby and I hear there is a swing." Cana said. Before Erza could respond, she had already left to get changed. She sighed.

"Fine. I suppose we can-" she said in defeat. The sound of bags getting zipped open simultaneously and the swim suits and trunks getting pulled was almost deafening. Soon Lucy and Erza were the sole two remaining.

"I...I didn't bring a suit..." Lucy murmured, now thinking she was incredibly unprepared. She held her head down, embarrassed. She suddenly felt something in her hands.

"I've got spares. Keep it." Erza said before heading off to get changed herself. Lucy looked at the suit, it was white with a few pink flower patterns. She held it close and found somewhere secluded.

Lucy watched on in the shade as her classmates were splashing about. She saw the swing Cana was on about, a rope one a few metres from her. The pool was about three metres bellow, she didn't know how deep it was. She didn't exactly want to go in. She laughed at the scene, Erza trying to keep them calm and not too mis-behave. From her time here, she could tell it normally worked. A blue haired girl, Juvia if she remembered correctly, was spying on Gray. She didn't see why since they were essentially going out. Several people were queuing for the swing, Cana at the front of the line. She took a run up and flew at the rope. She screamed something that sounded like wrecking ball and landed into the pool with a splash. She chuckled before she felt hands wrap around her stomach.

"Come on Lucy, your going in too!" The person said. She looked up to see Natsu.

"No! Put me down!" She shouted, clawing to try escape.

"Hold your breath!" He said cheerfully as he stepped backwards over the edge. Lucy did as so. She and Natsu fell through the air and landed in the water. She resurfaced, panting for air. She looked about for a few seconds, unsure whether she was still alive, before she started to laugh. Natsu's concerned face melted into one of joy. Lucy splashed him.

"You idiot!" She smiled.

"Weirdo." He retorted, sending a large splash her way. It hit her full on, soaking her more than she already was. She looked about her once again, everyone was happy. This was much better than her last school, much better. She finally could be herself, Lucy, and not posh Lucky Lucy Heartfilia.

The tents had been set up, everyone organised into where they were going. Natsu had to share with Gray. He groaned at learning this but one look from Erza got him to suck it up. A campfire area had been set up and all of his classmates were sat around the blaze. The girls were drying their hair. The girl that sat next to him on the bus was across from him, braiding her hair in two bunches on her shoulders. The sun had set and the fire lit the area up. Time seemed to fly as they ate, drank and sang. Soon Erza was telling them to get to sleep. They groaned, wanting to stay up longer, but she told them she had things planned for the next day. One by one people stood up and made their way to the tents. Levy lead Lucy to her tent and they entered. Soon it was only him left, staring at the embers of the flame. He pushed himself up from the log and headed to the tent that the Ice Bastard was sitting in. He zipped the door open and crawled in. The surprisingly spacious area had their mats and bedding all laid out, ready just to head to bed. He found the Icicle already asleep. He closed the door and crawled into his covers and tried to sleep. After what felt like hours, he heard someone leaving their tent. He decided it wasn't important and continued to try sleep. Eventually, sleep had decided to come to him, leaving him in a deep slumber.

 **So hey guys, that's the end of chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it and I plan to try update regularly. All reviews are welcomed and favourites are partied about.**

 **Till next time, Hitt.**


	2. Chapter 2

They climbed a hill. Not just your plain, average hill that only took a ten minutes or so to climb but the tallest one in the area. They had set off at half nine and lunch was now starting to draw near. From where Lucy was, the top was nowhere in sight. She sighed, needing to stop for the third time in twenty minutes. Levy, who was walking with her, looked at her, asking if she was ok.

"Yeah... Just..I'll catch up... Go on ahead..." She said, waving her off.

"Ok then Lu." She said, then proceeding to catch up to Gajeel and the likes. Lucy bent over, hands on her thighs, trying to get her breath back. She heard footsteps plodding towards her.

"Put your hands behind or above your head, helps you breathe easier." The voice instructed. She looked up to see Natsu's friendly face. Lucy tried it, putting her hands behind her head. She breathed in slowly, finding it to actually help.

"Wow, thanks!" She said, her cheeks still red from her exertion earlier. They waited a minute and started up again. "How far away are we from the top?" Lucy asked him, tightening the straps on her backpack. Natsu thought for a second, putting a hand to his chin as they walked.

"Ten...Fifteen minutes tops? I'm not sure but it isn't too long. Don't worry if your the last one there, no one cares and we spend a while up at the top anyway." He said. A silence fell between them as they walked upwards to the top, the chatter from the others drowning out their awkward silence.

Lucy finally reached the others. Some of the boys laughed saying "took you long enough." She bit her lip and looked away embarrassed. Natsu put his arm around her nonchalantly.

"Don't mind them, you did fine." He said to her. Her classmates all draw out a cloth or blanket of sorts to sit on. As she started to pull one out, Natsu stopped her. "You can share my blanket, it's pretty big." He suggested to her, pulling out a large blanket and unrolling it. He flapped it in the air a few times before laying it down. He fell back onto it, laying on the quilted fabric and patted beside him. Lucy slowly sat down cross legged adjacent to him. She was just off to say something when Erza drew their attention.

"We did it! We climbed to the top of the tallest hill in this area! Firstly, we are going to eat our lunch and then spend some time up here. Do what you want as long as you don't get into fights- I'm talking to you Natsu, Gray, Gajeel." She said, shooting them looks.

"What? I can't help the flamebrain is useless." Gray responded.

Erza sighed, "Just no fights or you'll suffer the consequences. Make sure, whatever you do however, your back here in two hours time." She said before proceeding to sit down to eat her own lunch, which seemed to be filled to the brim with sweets and a strawberry cake.

Lucy thought that she was the abnormal one of the lot of them, being new and all. This image was most definitely ruined when she got to spend about an hour and a half with them out of class. She would of counted yesterday but the pool party was what your average teen may do. But today was just weird. The moment Erza had left with Jellal on a nice woodland walk (Lucy had no idea how they had the energy to do so), all hell broke loose. A piece of sandwich was thrown onto one of the boys and it was a war zone.

Lucy hid a safe distance away with Levy and Lisanna, Mirajane's, the head waitress of the local coffee ship, little sister. While they all sighed in relief as the closest any of the brawlers got was ten metres away, a family of rabbits bounded along in front of them. The three girls were sent straight into 'cute' mode and squeaked about them and their fluffy little tails. They seemed comfortable around them, coming up close to their legs and allowing themselves to be petted. They don't know how long they spent there with the fluffy bunnies but before they knew it, the boys were searching for them. Gray was the one to find them.

"We better get all back before the demon and her brave ass boyfriend get back. We don't want to have to suffer the wrath of Erza." He said. (They protested, wanting to take the rabbits with them but eventually were talked out of it with the questions, where would you keep them? Do you have anywhere to put them?)

They had all gathered on the blankets, all brought together to make a small area just for them. They were in the middle of a very intense game of cards called Diplomat. Lucy, Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, almost everyone didn't have a clue what was going on. Cana and Levy seemed to be the only ones who knew how to play. Lucy heard a remark that a 'Freed' would also be great at this game. Though it seemed like a tie at the moment, Cana called out in victory.

"I win yet again!" She shrieked.

Levy crossed her arms "I swear you have marked the cards somehow, you just become _this_ good at card games and tricks." She said, trying to think of excuses to make up for her loss.

"Oh Levy, that is very bad sportsmanship." Erza said, appearing beside the large group. "Cana obviously won and you should accept that and shake hands." She explained, giving an example by taking one classmate's hand, name that Lucy still needed to learn, and shaking it incredibly hard. Once Erza released her grip the boy collapsed, gripping his hand like she had broken it. Erza then clapped her hands together. "Alright. Let's pack up and head back down to camp!" She said joyfully. Several voices groaned as they shifted slowly and zipping their backpacks open. The boxes, blankets and leftovers were stuffed away and bags were tightened onto people's backs. With small smiles, they all set off to return to base camp.

Natsu heard the zip of another tent open again. He checked his watch, it was around the same time as the night before. 'Who could possibly be going out at half two in the morning?' He asked himself. He looked over to Gray, who was snoring away. He slowly slipped off his pop up bed and out the duvet. Carefully, he unzipped the door of the tent and left. He tiptoed towards the sound of footsteps and then they stopped. He kept back a bit before continuing. He jumped into a bush and peered through the leaves. He saw Lucy, laying on her jacket with her arms behind her head. She was gazing upwards to the sky. She muttered something, along the lines of "Mom...the sky is pretty tonight." Natsu shifted his weight slightly but still caused a large racket. Lucy got up and looked round. "Who's there?" She asked the area around the bush he was hidden in. He held his breath. For a few tense moments, silence filled the air. She sighed, blaming her imagination. Natsu slowly escaped the bush and headed back to his tent. He climbed in and rushed in shutting the tent. He ignores Gray's sleep mumbles. He shuts his eyes and waits. He slowly drifts into a slumber.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the slightly belated update! I still hope that you enjoyed the chapter anyway.**

 **Response to reviews:**

 **Exceed King: Thank you so much! I hope the later chapters continue to keep you happy! Shinqua: thanks! I will try my best to include lots of Gajevy and Gruvia! To answer your question, I was originally going to have it as Natsu, Gajeel, Sting and Rouge. They, at least I think, are all about the same age and i'd picture Laxus as a college/university student. I hope that answers it!**


	3. Chapter 3

In the morning while breakfast was cooking, Natsu watched Lucy discreetly. He noticed that she was tired but, somehow, still filled with joy. He didn't want to confront her just yet. If he was going to do it, it would be tonight, under the stars. Lucy scooted over next to him, confused look on her face.

"Are you ok?" She asked. "You look... I don't know..." She said, trying to think of an appropriate word to describe how he was.

"Really?" He said. He brought a smile to his face. "It's nothing, just thinking about something." Lucy kept her face the same before she decided to let it go. She gave him a small smile. She got up and headed over to where Levy was sat in the shade reading a book. She knelt down next to her and then collapsed onto her butt. Natsu heard them discussing and giggling. He sighed, having no way to entertain himself.

Erza had been thinking. She was relying on the boys on misbehaving yesterday as she had a great idea for what to punish them with. But, alas, no one had mucked up. She held her head in her hands. She was supposed to be the one in charge of this trip! She should of had ideas! She groaned. It was going to be a long day.

"Lu could you turn around please?" Levy asked Lucy politely. Lucy's head tilted, questioning her motifs. "Please?" Levy continued, hands clasped in front of her.

Lucy chuckled. "Sure then Levy." She said. She shifted herself around the other way, facing towards some people playing tag. She glanced to her right, wondering why they had no plans for the day so far to see Erza groaning. "Levy, what are you plan-" She started to be stopped by Levy starting to braid it. She had started at one side, slowly making her way to the other, keeping it tied nice and tight to her head. The remaining parts of hair once it reached her right shoulder were put into a small side ponytail, cascading beautifully onto her torso. Lucy looked back to Levy.

"Wow! Your really good!" She exclaimed, a grin on her face.

"Thank you Lu!" Levy replied, smiling. She was happy that her new friend liked it. "So, what do you-" Levy started before being interrupted by a shout. Nearly all heads turned to the source to find Erza standing on top of the log she was perched on before hand.

"Everyone get in pairs! We are playing hide-and-go-seek, but with a partner!" Erza said shouting the idea to everyone. Lucy have a glance to Levy.

"Want to-" Lucy started to suggest before Levy was picked up by her armpits. Lucy looked upwards to see Gajeel.

"Shrimp your my partner." He said before stomping off. Levy sighed, probably used to his antics. Lucy swear she heard her mumble

'You could at least ask before you carry me away.' Gajeel's laugh followed this. Before she realised it, all those around her had partners. She sighed. 'Just like my old school...' She thought. An arm draped around her.

"Yo Lucy. Looks like we're partners." The all too familiar voice called. She looked to Natsu's face.

"Yup, it seems like it." She agreed. Once everyone seemed to be paired up, Erza and, surprise surprise, Jellal were standing on the log.

"You have a minute to find a spot before we arrive. If one of your pair is caught, your out and have to help the seekers. Understand?" She asked everyone. Nods filled the area. "Ok. 3, 2, 1, GO!" She shouted before she and Jellal covered their eyes. Lucy felt her wrist getting pulled.

"Come on Luce, we can't lose to the likes of Fullbuster." He said as they jogged away.

A minute had most definitely passed and they still didn't have a spot. All the places they found were occupied, (one particular spot with Gray and Juvia hiding left her and Natsu speechless. They walked from their spot and headed the opposite direction from the 'just friends.') and there were no signs of a good place nearby.

"I guess we're gonna have to climb." Natsu sighed. He assessed the trees in the area, choosing the easiest one for climbing.

"Climb?! No no no. We are not climbing." Lucy said, putting her foot down. She crossed her arms. "Do you think I want to climb a tree?" She asked him.

"Um..." Natsu said. "No?" He heard voices from behind him, sounding a lot like Erza and Jellal. "We have to climb now." He said. He picked Lucy up over his shoulder and started to climb. He barely reached the safety a few metres above in the foliage when Erza charged past chasing Gray and Juvia. Suddenly Jellal seemed to materialise in front of them and put his hands on their shoulders.

"Tag." He said. Gray sighed.

"So we have to help you find everyone else?" He said. Erza and Jellal nodded their heads. Gray started to look about, Juvia doing so as well. Juvia's cheeks still seemed to be tinted red from the scene that Lucy and Natsu saw. Lucy held her breath, hoping that they couldn't hear her and Natsu. They took one last look around the area and the group of four below them moved onwards. Lucy and Natsu stayed silent for a few minutes more, just incase them leaving was a facade and they were just in waiting. The only noises they heard were in the distance by the four finding more people.

A laugh rang through the trees. The seekers seemed to be far enough away for them not to be heard.

"You tried to eat fire as a kid?" Lucy giggled. Her hands were barely able to cover her mouth from her shaking. "Why?"

"It looked tasty and just went 'why not?'" He shrugged, suppressing his own laugh. "Aside from it being burning hot, it actually tasted nice. Which resorted to me trying another, and another. I had to spend a few days in hospital." Though Lucy felt bad that he had to go to hospital, she couldn't restrain her laugh. She leaned backwards, a little too far back. She started to topple off the branch.

"N...Natsu!" She shouted as her weight left the branch. He reached a hand out to her, hoping to reach her. He missed her by millimetres.

"Luce!" He shouted, arm still outstretched below him. Lucy screamed her way down, preparing for impact when a pair of arms caught her.

"Caught ya." Gray said. Lucy looked up at him. "You need to be more careful, you could of really hurt yourself." He informed her. She reached up and have him a quick hug.

"Thank you." She said. She released him and asked to be put down. He did as requested. A small angered growl came from behind them.

"Love rival..." Juvia said, fists clenched. Her stare bore into Lucy. 'God, she gets real jealous.' She thought as she backed away. Gray stepped towards Juvia, trying to explain what happened.

"She fell and I caught her, it didn't mean anything." He said aloud. He leant in and whispered something that Lucy couldn't quite catch and when he pulled away, Juvia was bright red. Lucy could only imagine what he said and a lot of the things that came to mind she wanted to get rid of immediately.

A thump sounded as Natsu landed on the ground. He ran to Lucy and hugged her tight.

"I am so sorry, I couldn't save you." He said softly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Luckily Gray caught me in time." She said. Natsu pulled away and gave her a small smile.

"At least your ok."

Natsu was going to speak to Lucy that night. He was determined to. So he grabbed a pillow and left his tent in his dragon pyjamas. He made his way to where Lucy had been the previous night. She still wasn't there.

"It's a bit early..." He said aloud. He decided to look up at the stars, trying to see what Lucy had been so interested in.

What felt like minutes later, footsteps sounded towards him. Natsu turned quickly to see Lucy. When she saw him, she stepped back a bit.

"Oh...I didn't realise... I'll find somewhere else..." She blabbered.

"Come sit with me. I was waiting for you." He said with a smile. He moved to the side a little so she could place her pillow down. Lucy did as so and sat down awkwardly.

"I'm not used to this with another person... It's usually just me and mom..." Lucy said quietly, looking upwards. Natsu became confused.

"Your mom? So you star gaze often with her?" Natsu asked her.

"Not exactly. She is always there, even if I can't see her, she's there." She muttered sadly. Natsu realised the situation.

"I'm...I'm sorry for asking, I was just curious." He said, hoping that he hadn't made her too upset.

"Nah, it's fine. It feels kinda good to have someone else know, I've always kept quiet about it, not even Levy knows." Lucy said. She had her eyes stuck on one particular constellation. He looked up at it, to him it just looked like a large mass of dots. He sighed. 'Should I tell her about...? No... Maybe another time...' Natsu thought. To try lighten the mood, he lay down, head on his hands. Lucy lay back as well.

"So i'm guessing you know the stars well then?" Natsu asked her. She nodded. "Could you show me which one is which? They all confuse me." He said, chuckling lightly.

"Sure, Natsu." She said. She began her lesson, pointing to various groups of stars and telling him the names of them. They saw Canis Minor, the Big Dipper and various others. Before she said the name of the one she continuously looked back at, she gave a small smile.

"That one is Aquarius. She was my mom's favourite. Whenever I see Aquarius I feel like my mom is right there, watching over me." She said slightly dreamily. Natsu looked at Lucy's face. Though she was clearly exhausted, she still looked as radiant as she did when they were joking up at the top of the tree. She was beautiful.

They shared some silence as they continued to watch the stars. Lucy started to drift off to sleep, head on the crook of Natsu's elbow. He gave her one last glance at the peaceful look on her face and then upwards at Aquarius. He swore he saw the stars in the constellation shine brighter than the others for a second before they died down. He wore a small smile before he drifted off into his own sleep.

 **So wow! Chapter 3 already! Thanks to all those guys who are following this story, it's greatly appreciated! Till next time!**


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